September 2017

09/25/2017

It is a fantastic read about life and work and the value of always striving to learn and grow and become better at what you do.

Here is a quote from the Introduction:

“Principles are fundamental truths that serve as the foundation for behavior that gets you what you want out of life. They can be applied again and again in similar situations to help you achieve your goals.

Every day, each of us is faced with a blizzard of situations we must respond to. Without principles we would be forced to react to all the things life throws at us individually, as if we were experiencing each of them for the first time.

If instead we classify these situations into types and have good principles for dealing with them, we will make better decisions more quickly and have better lives as a result.

Having a good set of principles is like having a good collection of recipes for success. All successful people operate by principles that help them be successful, though what they choose to be successful at varies enormously, so their principles vary.

… My hope is that reading this book will prompt you and others to discover your own principles from wherever you think is best and ideally write them down.”

I plan to think about and write down more of the principles that I believe in and that guide me in my work (and life) in the coming months.

I encourage you to read the book and begin thinking more about the principles that guide you in your business.

A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting: Discover the Secret to Driving Growth, Profitability, and Cash Flow Higher provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to one of the most powerful financial tools in business: a reliable financial forecast. It will transform the financial future of your company and help you make better, faster, smarter business decisions. Order the book at Amazon. Or learn more here.

09/18/2017

Ultimately, your success in business will be determined by the degree to which you generate, and hang on to, cash.

That isn’t to say there aren’t other reasons you are in business (pride of ownership, not having a boss breathing down your neck, etc.), it’s just speaking to the reality that financial and investment success is all about generating cash.

So, how do you measure your progress on generating cash in your business from week to week or month to month?

If you had to pick 1 to 3 key financial metrics to track weekly, what would they be?

I’ll provide you some very specific recommendations and examples in the weeks to come. And I’ll show you what they look like in a very powerful dashboard tool. 😊

A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting: Discover the Secret to Driving Growth, Profitability, and Cash Flow Higher provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to one of the most powerful financial tools in business: a reliable financial forecast. It will transform the financial future of your company and help you make better, faster, smarter business decisions. Order the book at Amazon. Or learn more here.

09/11/2017

A reliable financial forecast is one of the most powerful financial tools for driving performance in your business.

So, what exactly is a reliable financial forecast you ask?

I’ll answer the question first by defining what a reliable financial forecast is NOT.

It’s NOT a target.

It’s NOT a goal.

It’s NOT a budget.

A Reliable Financial Forecast IS

Here is the definition of a financial forecast:

It’s an UNBIASED, reality based expectation of financial results. It’s an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow over the next six to eighteen months. The results of the forecast are expressed in the form of a 2-minute summary and it becomes a part of your monthly/quarterly financial rhythm.

The difference between a financial goal or target and a reliable financial forecast is a super important distinction to focus on if you are thinking seriously about creating the view through the financial windshield of your company.

This is where many CEOs (and CFOs) get tripped up.

Because in most organizations the only time the CFO begins thinking about and creating a forward-looking view of financial performance is during the annual budgeting process. Or when they are putting a business plan together and projecting financial results into the future in order to raise capital or borrow money.

Both of those exercises have a very strong target setting or aspirational intent behind them.

A forecast helps you answer the question: “Are we on track to hit our goals… or on track to hit a rock”?

It is a tool to help you make better decisions proactively rather than reactively.

A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting: Discover the Secret to Driving Growth, Profitability, and Cash Flow Higher provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to one of the most powerful financial tools in business: a reliable financial forecast. It will transform the financial future of your company and help you make better, faster, smarter business decisions. Order the book at Amazon. Or learn more here.

But what if you are starting a business, creating a new division within your company, or otherwise launching something new? You can’t “First look back, then look forward” when you have no historical financial results to look back on.

Part of the answer is to consider what you DO have. You have at least some glimmer of an expectation for your new venture. You have an idea for what you are trying to accomplish in this new venture.

And a forecast is basically an expectation of what you believe will happen financially.

In the financial forecasting process, you want to explore those expectations and do your forecasting based on a range of possibilities and your current thinking on how things might unfold from a financial perspective.

Understanding Your Business Model (Financially)

One of the benefits of financial forecasting is that it helps you to better understand your business model. You already have a good sense for what kind of business or venture you are launching. Now you get to “put some numbers to it.”

The process of creating different versions of a forecast will help you learn what the key financial and nonfinancial drivers of performance are. It will force you to think deeply about what makes your new venture tick. It will help you find the “levers” that can move the needle and help it to be successful.

As you move further along in making specific assumptions about financial performance, the process will force you to ask some tough questions.

“Can we really add new customers at the rate I am projecting over the next twelve months? How much will we have to increase operating expenses to achieve the plan? How fast can a salesperson bring on new customers in order to cover their salary and overhead costs?”

The financial forecasting process forces you to look hard for any weak links in your strategy.

You will discover some powerful insights about your business model as you become more intimately familiar with what will really drive financial performance and make your new venture a success.

A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting: Discover the Secret to Driving Growth, Profitability, and Cash Flow Higher provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to one of the most powerful financial tools in business: a reliable financial forecast. It will transform the financial future of your company and help you make better, faster, smarter business decisions. Order the book at Amazon. Or learn more here.